syndication

share

Literacy, A Priority for Children & Adults

Literacy for Children and Adults

In the U.S. 30 million people over age 16, which is 14% of the country’s adult population, do not read well enough to understand a newspaper story written at the eighth grade level or fill out a job application. Literacy is possibly the most valuable skill a person can have. If you are not literate, you can’t get and hold a good job, help your children succeed in school, or participate fully in our wonderful democracy. The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy makes the development of these critical literacy skills possible for low literate families across the country.

“Being literate is one of the most important skills anyone can have,” says Amanda Bush. “Barbara Bush has always said if you can’t read, write and comprehend you can never be actively involved and contribute to society.”

Literacy is not just an issue for children. The Foundation was created to bring children and their parents together to read. “Barbara Bush always says that the home is the first classroom, the parent is the first teacher and reading is the first subject,” Amanda explains. Therefore, if parents are not literate they cannot provide their children with the direction they need.

In April 1995, the Foundation created the first annual A Celebration of Reading in Houston. A Celebration of Reading is a fundraising event that has helped adults and children across the United States become literate through the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. The support for this program was so great that additional Celebrations, to support the Foundation's work, now exist in Dallas, Maryland, and Florida. The Barbara Bush Foundation has already awarded more than $40 million dollars to create or extend 902 literacy programs across the country where parents and children learn and read together.

This year’s celebration marks the 10th anniversary of the Dallas/Fort Worth event. The 2011 Celebration of Reading Dallas/Fort Worth is scheduled for Monday, November 7, 2011 at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. This special event is also an exciting opportunity for donors to meet some of today’s most talked-about authors, and enjoy a wonderful evening. The night is hosted by President George H.W. Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush and their grandchildren Amanda & George P. Bush, and features appearances by several members of the Bush family.

Each year, Mrs. Bush personally invites her favorite authors who give freely of their time to bring their written words to life in a professionally produced program including video, a wonderful set, and other hallmarks of a real "theatrical performance." A highlight of the show has always been an inspirational testimony from a special guest of honor - a student whose life has benefited from the work of the Foundation.

Before the program, major donors attend the Authors' Reception where they enjoy the opportunity to mix-and-mingle with their host and the authors. All guests attend a supper among friends after the program and each guest goes home with a complimentary book written by one of the featured authors.